Our Reporter
Dimapur, Nov. 22 (EMN): The latest anticipated cost of the railway connectivity project from Dimapur to Zubza in Kohima is INR 3,000 crore, according to the Railway Ministry.
This broad gauge line connectivity project, which was sanctioned in 2006-07, has incurred an expenditure of INR 729.89 crore till March 2019.
According to a Press Information Bureau (PIB) update on November 22, the Union Minister of Railways and Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal provided the information related to the project in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
The project will be executed in three phases. Phase-I involves construction of Dhansiri-Sukhovi section, phase-II involves Sukhovi-Khaibong section, and the final phase involves Khaibong-Zubza section.
This railway line will bring the state capital onto the broad gauge railway map of the country, as part of Indian Railways’ ambitious plan to connect capitals of all north-eastern states by broad gauge rail link.
According to Goyal, ‘great emphasis has been given by the central government’ in past five years towards quick execution of infrastructure and safety projects.
The state capitals of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura have been connected by BG rail network, and a new line project has been sanctioned up to Rangpo in Sikkim.
The average budget allotment per year for north-eastern states from 2009-14 was INR 2,122 crore. However, it was increased by 161% to INR 5,531 crore per year during 2014-19, according to the PIB report.
“In some states, the progress of new line projects of capital connectivity has been affected mainly due to delay in land acquisition and law and order issues. All these capital connectivity projects being in hilly terrain of Himalayas involve large number of tunnels and major bridges including very tall bridges in a very challenging geological environment,” it stated.
